‘I gotcha covered’ — owner imagines his dog’s last thoughts

When John Pointer shared his grief over losing his dog Benny, he didn't expect his words to spread around the world.

In a heartbreaking blog post he described boxer Benny's last moments from the dog's perspective to deal with the grief of losing his companion.

The open letter, read by 20 million people in two weeks, begins: "Yesterday was weird. I couldn't get myself out of bed. The guy I live with lifted me up. I tried to get my legs under me, but they wouldn't cooperate. He said, 'Don't worry, I gotcha buddy,' carried me downstairs, and out the front door."

In the letter Mr Pointer wrote about the difficult decision of ending Benny's life after the white boxer spent months battling cancer.

Mr Pointer, from Michigan, said that Benny was his best friends for nine years and that he wrote the tribute to deal with the grief.

"Doctor pants lady said, 'He must have an incredible will to stay with you. He is really powering through. That's impressive.'

"My person choked back tears and said, 'I know. This guy lives for me. He is the most devoted soul I've ever met…'

"We put our heads together, and closed our eyes. I felt good. I can't really describe it. We looked at each other again.

"I just felt like riding that buzz, but maybe lying down was better. My person helped me down. Man, that felt gooooooood," Mr Pointer wrote imagining what went through Benny's head in his last moments.

"But my person was definitely sad. I leaned on him, like I've done a million times before, but it wasn't quite the same. It felt like his body was a cloud and I passed right through him.

"So I walked up next to him, sat like a good boy, and my heart whispered to his, 'Don't worry, buddy. I gotcha covered.'

"I will never leave his side. He knows that."

The post was published on Facebook on January 29, the day Benny passed away, and was originally "liked" by 213 people "who actually knew him," Mr Pointer told. The post has now been liked by 95 thousand people and translated into seven languages.